Part 11
"John?"
"Hmm?"
"It's after five. Mulder and I are going to take a break and go get something to eat."
"Uh-huh"
"Come with us." Scully demanded.
"Uh-huh"
"Okayyyy…..John, there's three strippers outside the office and one of them says she know you."
"Uh-…What?"
"I knew that would get your attention. Look, you have to eat something. Besides, I don't know how you can't have a monstrous headache from staring at that computer all day." Scully rubbed her own temples for emphasis and tried again.
"Look, one hour tops. We can even rehash about what we have gone over today. I just need to get out of here for awhile and so do you. Mulder is saving us a table at a restaurant down the street. Now come on!" Scully tossed John his jacket and he grudgingly put in on as Scully ushered him out the door and into the elevator.
By the time they reached the restaurant, there was already a line forming on the outside. Scully and Doggett squeezed by the frustrated line of people and found Mulder in a booth in the back. As they slid into the booth, Mulder looked up.
"Well, well. See what I had to put up with for you two?" Gesturing toward the massive crowd outside, Mulder leaned to his right and kissed Scully.
Across from them, John picked up his menu and blankly stared at it. He didn't feel like eating but he knew Mulder and Scully were trying to help by taking him out of his 'cave' and seeing what was actually going on in the real world. He appreciated it but he couldn't wait to get back to his office and try contacting Monica's relatives in Mexico again. Or following up on that 'astro-' clue. Or-
"John?"
"W-what?"
"Ah, there he is. What do you want to drink?" Mulder grinned at him but felt great sympathy for the man. Knowing he himself was a lucky man, he reached under the hand and grasped Scully's hand.
"Uh, just coffee, thanks." John looked over at the crowd at the front door and studied them. His gaze swept over the individuals and settled on a man. He looked to be in his late forties and a business man. His tie was loosened around his neck and his suit a bit wrinkled. All of the sudden a child started to scream and grabbed the man's hand. The man grimaced and tried to quiet the child down. A woman leaned over to him and whispered something to the man, in which he then handed her the child and picked up another child. The man held the little girl who had begun to cry and kept glancing down the street. John tore his gaze away from the family and settled it on Mulder and Scully, who were studying him.
"What?"
"Nothing. We're just worried about you, that's all." Scully reached across the table, gave his hand a friendly squeeze.
After the three had ordered their food, they began to hash out what they had come up with so far about Monica's disappearance. So far, Monica's family and friends had no idea where she was, or if they did, they were great actors. Her old neighbors had no information other than the fact they had heard a lot of commotion early on the morning she had left and saw men taking her things down to a moving truck. They didn't remember seeing a label on the moving truck and didn't look much further into Monica's odd departure. They knew she was an FBI Agent and by this time, very few things she did anymore could surprise them. John had thought about Monica storing her stuff in storage somewhere but no luck so far in discovering where.
Thirty minutes later, they were ready to leave. As they were getting up, John glanced over at a table full of noise and noticed the family again. The man's face was now flushed and he looked ready to just fall apart. He obviously did not want to be there. Probably a really hard day at work and now he had his children screaming at him when he probably just wanted a cold beer and some peace and quiet. John didn't blame him. They walked out of the restaurant and began walking back to the FBI Headquarters. John wished he could just fade away from this horrible nightmare and sit on some beach somewhere with a cold beer. Just to leave this hell that was surrounding-
"Wait!"
"What?" Startled, Scully almost walked into John when he stopped on the sidewalk. John turned around with a look of disbelief on his face and looked at the bewildered Mulder and Scully.
"I think…I think I know what the 'astro-' is."
With that, John set off at a run towards the FBI headquarters with Mulder and Scully not far behind him.
Part 12.
"Okay, so you were right."
Monica looked up from where she was sitting just as Agent Ryan dropped a manila envelope on her desk.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's not the girl." Agent Ryan walked to the window and looked out over the city. The sun was just about to go down and was casting warm pink and orange colors into the sky. "Damn it! I thought we were about to finish this case!" Agent Ryan slowly turned around and faced Monica. He took a deep breathe. "Okay, so how did you know it wasn't her?"
Monica picked up the manila envelope and laced it between her fingers. "Actually, I do think it was her. Just not in the way you mean."
"What?"
"I just know she didn't do it intentionally." Monica looked up at Agent Ryan's baffled face.
"Not intentionally?"
"Well, it's hard to explain."
"No, I want to hear this. Look, its getting late. Why don't we go grab a bite to eat and you can explain your ...err...theory."
"Okay."
They both grabbed their things and left the office. As they walked out into the balmy air, Monica finally began to relax. She had spent the entire day looking at this case from all angles in the little office. It felt so good to get outside again. They turned to their left and walked for awhile, not saying anything. They came upon the beach pier and wandered down the row of restaurants. After awhile, Agent Ryan asked, "Any preference?"
Monica shook her head and they walked a little further. All of the sudden, Agent Ryan stopped. "Lets eat here. They have a quiet patio where we can talk."
Once they were settled at a table and had ordered their food, Agent Ryan leaned back in his chair and stared at her.
"What?" Self-conscious, Monica quickly glanced down at her silverware.
"Nothing. I guess I'm just wondering why a smart and beautiful agent such as yourself would be transferred here without an explanation. I mean, all I know about you, and believe me I checked, is that you have an unusual way of finding answers. There's no history of where you were transferred from, who your past work partners were, what you are most afraid of. Nothing."
Monica looked at him for a second and said, "Why is it so important?"
"We're partners, Monica. We may be partners for awhile. Don't you think we should know something more about each other, other than what gets on our nerves? Which I believe, we've covered." Monica smiled and looked out to the dark ocean, which was barely visible in the moonlight. She had imagined eating dinner with John in the moonlight. Somewhere quiet, with candlelight. Whoa! Where did that thought come from? She had told herself not to think of him while she was working. Even though, technically, she wasn't working right now, she was with her work partner. And once he was done with his gentle prodding into her background, they would be working again.
"Its a guy, isn't it?
"What?" Startled by his comment, Monica picked up her glass of water and took a long sip.
"Look, I don't mean to pry-"
"Uh-huh."
Agent Ryan smiled and continued, "But it's like, you seem to be here, on the case and working your damn hardest. But somewhere, in the back of your mind, something is nagging at you. Tearing you to pieces. And when it comes to a point on an assignment where I need to rely on you fully, you might not be ready to back me up."
Monica felt herself flush and was ready to tell him a piece of her mind when she looked into his eyes ands saw he wasn't baiting her. He was really concerned.
"His name is John."
"Okay, that's a start. I've got a name. Now was that so hard?" Agent Ryan pretended to faint back into his chair with an exaggerated sigh.
Monica laughed until she could barely breathe. He might not be such an ass to work with after all.
"While we're on the subject, let's talk about your girlfriend."
"Which one?" With a mischievous grin, Agent Ryan grabbed a dinner roll and bit into it happily as Monica tried hard not to grin back at him.